Of the Nature, Corraptio11 and There.fore in the firft place, get a.n enlightned Confcience if you would gc; a good Confc1.ence; for what fays the Wife Man, Pro'il. 19. 2.. ThtJt the SPul be without know. ledge, ~t ~ .not good; or, as fom~ TranOatio~s have it, a Soul without knowledge u not good; 1t ts mdeed good for nothmg, unlefs tt be to make Men fin confcientioufiy and to embolden them to commit_the greateft Wickednefs in the World with Peac~ . and Comfort. Thus, fays our Savtour, 'John I6. 2. »:'hofoever killtth youfhall tbink that ~n~Jt»le.:ifft he doth God good Service, through the Error and Mtfrake of their Confdencc. So ~~}c';~;c: in t Cor. 2. 8. Had they _known it, they would not have crurijied the Lord of Glory. Knownvo w.tJs. ledge betters the Confctence two ways. 1 • Firft, It gives its ~ireEiion what to choofe and w~at to avoid, it inflruffs it to di{cern BJinflru~ bctroixt Good and Ewl. lgnoranE Perfons often nuftake the one for the other and lflinJ?, of it efchew what they fuould follow; or if they chance to do that which is gopd, as ~~~~f.~e;n it is not·of great worth to do good only by chance and hazard, fo they fin alfo in Go?d and doing good; while the Judgment is in fufpence, the Con~c~ence muft needs be un. Evil, der Guilt. If 1 know not whether 1 ought to do an ACbon or to forbear which way foever I take 1 am entangted in Sin, for what{oever is not of Baith is Sin~· Th.:~.t is, whatfoever is done with a waveri.ng Confcience that I know not whether it be ftnful or n~t , that thc:reby becomesSm; an~ whatever a Man doth doubtingly, he is damned tf he doth Jt; He thttt eats doubtmgly, fays the Apofrle, is damned if he etJ.tJ, Rom. '4· 23. 2 • Secondly, Knowledge gi'?Jes the Con{cience Strength to enforce us to the doing of that BJ giving which it difcover.s to be Good, and to the Flight of that which it di{cQ'?Jers to be Evil. ir5_rrengrb A knowing Perfon cannot fin fo eafily as an ignorant Man may, but he muft to.w~;ce ftruggle and wreftle harder, and offer more Violence by far to his own Confci· ~;i~go{ ence. A Man that fees ~lis pan per befor~ hi~1 will hardly be dragg'd inro Preci· Good, a>rd pices, whereas one that IS blmd IS eafily lect thither fufpc(hng nothing. So here to .tke a. a knowing Perf01~, that fees the Dan.ger of Hell and Damnation before him, if h~ ~~i~~.ng of Sins it mu~ be :VIth a grea.t deal of .mward rel~Ctancy: A.a enlightned Confcience ftruggles and with· holds ~I m ; and tf. Temptation be fo vw~cnt. as to wreft him out of the Hand of Conf~..tence, how ts he wrackt and torn 111 pteces betwixt Conw fdence and Tcmp~ations? a~d when. Confcie.nc~ hatb loft its ~wld., fti\1 it purfhefs him and follows hun to Ius Sm and difturbs hts Pleafure, and tmbitters that Sweet ... nefs that he thought to have found in Sin before, and never leaves its Clamors till it hath at leaft by a hypocritical and former ~epentancc, and by Engagements to be more obferving of the Commands of Confctence for the future, fatisfied and appeafed it. This force Confcience bath when it is duly informed with Knowledge. But where Ignorance bath blinded it, it fuJfers Men quietly to rufh upon God's Neck, and upon the thick boffes of his B~ckler ; it fees not, neither refpects any Danger when it is even on the very bnnk of Hell. An ignorant Pcrfon is like your benighted or bewildred Traveller, which becaufe it cannot fee its own Way before it, what is to be chofen and what is to be refufed, it lays the Reins upon the Neck of Men's Lufts, and fufths them without controul to rake their own courfe. And therefore if you would have good Confdences, get them rightly informed with the knowledge of what is Sin, and what is Duty. 2, Secondly, If you 1vould have a clear Confcience, then c4J out the fi ltiJof Con{cience by Cafl ou~ fa daily and frequent Co;tftffion. Confeilion, one of the Fathers C::t\ls it the Vomit of ~e {J;nc~ the Soul, whereby it cafeth it felf when it is over·charged and glutted with Sin h1 '",.J.,u, and Guilt. And fo the Scripture alfo fpeaks, when the Apoftle fpcaks of Apo· a;1d (re. ftates rclapftng back again into their old Sins. In 2 Pet. 2. 22. he faith, They return quenr Con~ with the DDg to hM Vomit ; that this, they return and do again lick u~ thofe Sins f<f[wn. which before they difgorged and caft up by Confcflion. This indeed IS the Way when Confcience is burned with the Guilt of any Sin; when Sin lies unconco~ Cl:ed and heavy within, go then and pour out your Heart before the Lord in the Confeffion of your Sin; fee what fudden Eafe this will bring in to Confcience. Da'Vid was Sin·fick, and he refolves upon this courfe, Pfol. 32. 5· f~tcknowled.ted my Sin unto thee, and my Iniquity have I not hid; J.faid I would confefl my Tran.fkrej]ion, and fuddcnly there came Eafe to his Confcience, and thou, 0 Lord, fays he, for .. gaveft the Iniquity of my Sin. Are our Confciences oppreffcd with the Burden and Weight of great and numberlefs Sins? Here we may~ by an hutable and penitent Confeffion, unload them all before God; and this is the Myftery of Confeflion ; the way to unload our Sins from off us, is by taking them upon our felves; when we
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